It’s being billed as “For History” on Saturday night when Katie Taylor clashes with Amanda Serrano as the first women to ever headline a Madison Square Garden main boxing card. On the line will be Taylor’s undisputed lightweight championship crown.
With their historic fight on deck, Taylor and Serrano have the chance to join all-time classic bouts at the legendary venue. And when it comes to classic MSG fights, there were plenty to choose from but DAZN News narrowed it down to these five.
Joe Frazier hands Muhammad Ali first loss in “Fight of the Century”; March 8, 1971
Listen, it’s only right to start with “The Fight of the Century.” Muhammad Ali walked into “The Mecca of Boxing” with a pristine 31-0 record including 25 knockouts to take on game heavyweight champion Joe Frazier (26-0, 23 KOs).
Ali laid the groundwork for the epic clash in a dangerous manner, referring to Frazier as an “Uncle Tom,” proclaiming that the fighter was “too ugly to be champ” and “too dumb to be champ.”
And ooh did those words cost “The Greatest.” In just his third fight back since a boxing ban and absence of nearly three and a half years for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, Ali quickly realized that Frazier was going to bring the fight to him in a manner that he had never quite experienced.
“Smokin’ Joe” got inside of Ali’s reach and peppered him with thudding shots in a gritty, diligent display. The incessant ring work reached its climax in the 15 round when Frazier launched an explosive left hook that chopped Ali down. The thunderous knockdown helped Frazier garner a unanimous decision victory in Ali’s first loss as a professional.
To this day, remnants of “The Fight of the Century” can be found throughout the Garden via blown up photos. Not to mention, the clash, which celebrated its 50 year anniversary last year, remains a permanent part of boxing’s lore on this unforgettable night.
Andy Ruiz Jr. shocks the world in mammoth upset of Anthony Joshua; June 1, 2019
Andy Ruiz was a massive 30-1 underdog stepping foot into the Garden, with fans’ and critics’ expectations of him losing to unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua thought of as a formality.
Joshua furthered that feeling by unloading a left hook to drop Ruiz for the first time in his career during the third round of the fight. DAZN’s Chris Mannix notoriously said “Anthony Joshua is a composed and ferocious finisher — watch this.” And AJ’s slicing right hand across Ruiz’s jaw seemed to signal the end being near after the challenger bravely got back on his feet.
But with quick hands of his own, Ruiz dramatically turned the tide of the fight, boxing and his life all with one compact left hook to the temple. The shot instantly buzzed Joshua, putting the undefeated champ on jelly legs.
Ruiz sensed he had Joshua hurt and pounced on him for two knockdowns in the same round. Joshua took a few frames to get his legs back but Ruiz made sure to secure one of boxing’s biggest upsets ever, as he would package a barrage of punches together in the seventh round to produce two more knockdowns before the ref would stop the fight to seal Ruiz's storybook night.
A truly unforgettable night of boxing at MSG.
Lennox Lewis outboxes Evander Holyfield in controversial draw; March 13, 1999
Lennox Lewis’s ring IQ was responsible for his legendary career just as much as his boxing skills. That much was on display when he put his WBC heavyweight title on the line against a warrior of a champ and then-holder of the WBA and IBF titles in Evander Holyfield at MSG.
There, Lewis would use his six-foot-five frame and 84-inch reach to pepper Holyfield with his jab all night, utilizing the weapon of choice to put together stinging combinations as well. By the end of the bout, Lewis had done enough damage to earn a unanimous decision across all three judges’ scorecards. But judges inexplicably gifted Holyfield with a draw, setting up a rematch that November with Lewis getting the unanimous decision victory then.
Rocky Marciano crushes Joe Louis; Oct. 26, 1951
Boxing can be unforgiving. Despite the legendary career that Joe Louis had carved out at the time, Father Time couldn’t be defeated. The then-37-year-old Lewis was a shadow of himself when he ran up against the buzzsaw that was Rocky Marciano. The 28-year-old Marciano entered the bout 37-0, producing a path of destruction along the way with 32 knockouts to his name. He would batter Louis for two knockdowns during the eighth round. The latter knockdown sent Louis reeling between the ropes and nearly out of the ring for a devastating TKO. That savagery would be one of many highlights across Marciano’s legendary 49-0 ledger.
Bernard Hopkins schools Felix Trinidad in savory upset; Sept. 29, 2001
Popular thought was that Felix “Tito” Trinidad, 28, was too young and powerful for a 36-year-old Bernard Hopkins entering the fight. But the savvy veteran would shatter that thought in a boxing masterclass, in which Hopkins methodically broke Trinidad down round by round.
The gritty diligence would reach paydirt in the 12 and final round, when Hopkins unleashed a short, but explosive right hand that dropped Trinidad with a thud. Trinidad’s father stepped into the ring and called for the referee to stop the fight, granting Hopkins one of the most savory victories of his iconic career.
The bout earned him the satisfaction of proving prognosticators, who slugged him as an underdog, wrong. Not to mention, it allowed “The Executioner” to reap Trinidad’s WBA (Super) middleweight world championship to add to his own IBF and WBC hardware.
Now, the stage is set for the history-making Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano clash, airing Saturday night live on DAZN. Will the historic bout deliver enough fireworks for Taylor-Serrano to unseat one of the aforementioned five classic MSG fights? We’ll soon find out.